Monday, January 20, 2014

Performers' Alliance All-Party Parliamentary
Group to host launch of expert consultation on ways to protect risk-taking on
new work in British theatre

The authors of the influential InBattalions report,
examining how government cuts to the Arts Council are affecting new play
development in England,
have secured a launch event in the Houses of Parliament for their follow-up
study, on ways to protect risk-taking on new work for the stage, despite
austerity.

The original InBattalions report was published in
February 2013 after one its authors, playwright Fin
Kennedy, had a chance encounter with UK Culture Minister Ed
Vaizey in which Mr Vaizey said that Arts Council cuts were having "no
effect". Kennedy's response, a research-led report co-authored with Oxford University
doctoral student Helen Campbell Pickford, found theatres across the country
cancelling new plays, commissioning fewer writers, and curtailing a whole host
of creative research and development such as young writers' groups and
education work. It has been downloaded over 24,000 times and had questions
tabled in Parliament.

Their follow-up Delphi
study, a form of expert consultation, will be published next week, and launched
at a meeting in the House of Commons of the Performers' Alliance All-Party Parliamentary
Group on 29 January, sponsored by the Group's chair Kerry McCarthy MP. The
event will be attended by around 70 theatremakers and politicians, including
playwrights David Edgar and Dennis Kelly, artistic directors Giles Croft, Kerry
Michael and Ramin Gray, the Principal of RADA Edward Kemp, Ben Bradshaw MP – a
member of the Culture Select Committee - and Shadow Culture Minister Helen
Goodman MP.

The invitation to launch the study in Parliament
comes after Culture Minister Ed Vaizey acknowledged in a speech last month that
the first report had been an influence on the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. It
contained a pledge to hold a consultation on a tax breaks for new plays and
regional touring.

The InBattalions Delphi study, which will be
available for free download online, aims to capitalise on the attention and
debate generated by its predecessor, in an attempt to find some innovative
ideas to protect new theatre writing from the effects of Government cuts.

The new report features contributions from over 70
British theatre professionals including playwrights Roy Williams and James
Graham, directors David Jubb, Rod Dixon and Steven Atkinson, and literary
managers and other staff from theatres in Leeds, Newcastle,
Liverpool and London.

There are 36 proposals in the report. They include
such measures as ring-fencing Lottery money to support community residencies by
theatre artists; theatres working with drama schools to jointly commission new
plays; refreshing the set play texts on the National Curriculum to reflect more
recent output; and local Councils commissioning site-specific work to
regenerate run-down areas. A voting system has allowed the proposals to be
ranked in order of popularity, and includes arguments for and against each, all
sourced from experienced theatre professionals.

Fin Kennedy said:
"This Delphi study is about finding
solutions to the problems uncovered by the original InBattalions report. New
theatre writing is one of our country's greatest success stories,
internationally recognised and a huge driver for growth at home. It would be a
tragedy if that success were allowed to wither on the vine due to the
short-term effects of austerity. Our report aims to carve out some 'blue skies'
space to find ways to prevent that. It isn't a silver bullet, and the greatest
contributory factor to theatre's success remains sustained Government
investment. But given that our previous report appears to have been heeded by
the Chancellor I hope this follow-up will give policy-makers some more new
ideas to take forward, as each party gears up for the 2015 election. The
British culture industry is looking forward to seeing the approach each party
takes to this issue in their manifestos."

Kerry McCarthy MP said: “This report could hardly
have come at a more critical time. As the Arts Council is implementing further
cuts to national portfolio organisations for the next funding round 2015-18 and
local councils – which are in a dire financial situation – are in the process
of agreeing further serious reductions to their budgets. This has, for example,
resulted in the proposed withdrawal by Nottinghamshire County Council of 100%
of its funding to the Nottingham Playhouse. These findings will be of interest
to everyone who cares about the future of regional theatre and the role of the subsidised
sector in nurturing the skills and talent, as well as future hits, of
commercial theatre, TV, film and radio”.

Ends.

Notes for Editors

A limited number of press places are available for the
Parliamentary launch, which takes place in the Jubilee Room of the House of
Commons on 29 January 3.30-5pm. Advance copies of the Delphi study are also
available. Please email finkennedy@gmail.com

A Delphi study collates a
range of proposals in response to a research question. It then uses a voting
system to draw up a shortlist of recommendations which can be sent to funders
and policy-makers. It was last used by IPSOS Mori for an Arts Council study on
Libraries in 2012.

The In Battalions Delphi study research question was:

“In what ways can theatre-makers, theatres and the Arts
Council work together to help protect risk-taking on new work and new talent,
without creating significant extra expense?”

The original InBattalions
report was launched at the
Independent Theatre Council AGM at Soho Theatre on Friday 22 February 2013. The full report can be downloaded from: bit.ly/12WleC5

Fin Kennedy is an
award-winning playwright and Co-Artistic Director of Tamasha. More information
at www.finkennedy.co.uk

Helen Campbell Pickford is a doctoral student at St
Antony’s College, Oxford,
researching the use of theatre by NGOs to engage with communities in developing
countries.

Both authors gave their time to research and write
the Delphi study unpaid.

The Performers' Alliance All-PartyParliamentary Group is a cross-party group supported by
Equity, The Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the Musicians' Union.

About Me

UK playwright and Artistic Director of Tamasha theatre company - though blogging here in a personal capacity.
My plays are produced in the UK and abroad, and most are published by Nick Hern Books. I teach on the MA Dramatic Writing at Central Saint Martins and for the past ten years I have been writer-in-residence in a school in East London.
Theatre, politics and teaching (or any combination) are the main subjects on here.
Full bio on my main website www.finkennedy.co.uk/about
For current projects follow me on Twitter: @finkennedy